I started by gathering images and working with Magnolia Editions in West Oakland to print them onto plywood using their incredible flatbed printer. It can handle 4'x 8' sheets and cures the ink with UV lights instantly.

I also ordered and had the lumber delivered to a studio in Hayward that I rented specifically for the project. I had to build a structure to fit the mural into a recess and to accomodate the resonators I imagined would be necessary for the xylophone wings.

I had to start somewhere, so I drew directly onto the wood I planned to use as a template for the musical bird wing benches.

This is the digital rendering I came up with for the mural. I like to improvise so it was tough to plan so rigorously, but the scale of this project demanded it.

Here is the digital rendering of the Golden-crowned Sparrow with xylophone wings.

The structure starts to take shape and I get a sense of just what I've gotten myself into.

As I cut out birds and prepare sections of the background, the walls become strange collections of scrap wood and lurking birds.

Working late into the night on the weekends down in an industrial park in Hayward, this Egret felt like my only companion. More to come tomorrow.